


Consequence

by secretsofthesky



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Forbidden, Rating will change, Smut, best friends brother trope, oh the angst, or: sisters best friend trope, technically also roomates to lovers, with a lot of:
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:02:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23734291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretsofthesky/pseuds/secretsofthesky
Summary: “Just promise me one thing.”Betty glanced over at her as they approached their door. “What’s that?”“Don’t like... start crushing on him please,” JB made an exaggerated gagging noise. “It would be so incredibly weird and I already told him the same thing about you.”Betty laughed. That definitely wouldn’t be a problem. She didn’t have time for crushes. “I promise.”
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 10
Kudos: 80





	Consequence

* * *

_You're the color_   
_You're the movement and the spin_

_-The Notwist_

* * *

Betty shifted, setting the heavy grocery bag on her hip as she punched her code into the metal panel to her right. A loud click sounded signaling the door to her building was now unlocked and she quickly shuffled in.

“Hey! You’re home!”

Betty stopped her trek over to the elevator at the familiar voice and turned to see her roommate and best friend, JB, closing their mailbox and retrieving her key from it.

“I was just checking the mail.” She rolled a community flyer up and tossed into the lobby recycling bin. “Nothing good. As per usual.”

Betty shifted the bag again. “Well, no mail _can_ be a good thing, too. It means no bills,” she mused as they waited for the elevator to descend to the main floor. “Speaking of, did we get any calls about the room for rent?”

JB glanced at her from the corner of her eye, sucking her bottom lip into her mouth like she did when she was either trying not to say something or was about to say something that the person she was talking to really didn’t want to hear. “I’m glad you brought that up.Remember that favor you owe me?”

Betty’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as they stepped into the elevator and the doors began to slowly shut. It was well known to everyone in the building that the stairs, even when taking them slowly, were quicker than the ancient elevator - but there was no way she was carrying these groceries up five flights and _definitely_ not after the day at work she had suffered through.

“Why do I have a feeling I’m not going to like this?” she chuckled nervously, partly from JB’s hesitant look and partly because she did, in fact, owe her a huge favor and it was doubtful there was anything she would say no to.

JB smirked. “Because you know me _way_ too well,” she drawled. “But this isn’t that bad. It’s a good thing really!” She clasped her hands together excitedly. “I found us a roommate.”

Betty’s eyes widened as relief flooded through her instantly. The third room in their shared apartment had been empty for months and finding a roommate to move in and share the bills with would mean she wouldn’t have to work such long hours at the job she had quickly come to hate over the last year.

“Who is it?”

JB bit at her lip again. “That’s where that favor comes in.” She stopped, taking a deep breath before continuing. “It’s my brother.”

Betty shook her head in confusion. Of course she had heard about JB’s brother, Jughead, over the years - but the last she knew, she had been told he was in… “prison? I thought he was in prison?”

JB confirmed with a nod. “He _was_. He’s out now. It wasn’t supposed to be for another six months but apparently he was a stellar inmate and was released early on good behavior.”

Betty nodded slowly, a million thoughts entering her mind at once - thoughts she was ashamed to be thinking. Judging thoughts she had no business entertaining considering the things her own family had done. That she had done. She’d never met him, but if he was related to the girl standing in front of her, could he really be that bad? 

“Good behavior.” She repeated, glancing up to see they had only climbed two floors and still had three to go. One day the elevator was just going to finally croak and she really hoped she wasn’t on it when it did.

“Yeah, good behavior.” JB nodded enthusiastically. “He’s a good guy, Betts, I swear. He didn’t get a good shot at life like I did. He had to stay with my dad and well - FP Jones has a way of tainting everything he touches.”

Betty sent her friend a sympathetic smile. It was one of the first things the two had bonded over after a night of too much celebratory wine for passing their midterms - their horrible fathers.

“He’s not some criminal mastermind,” JB joked, trying to ease the tension. “He just got caught up in the Serpents and did some stupid stuff. Stuff that really shouldn’t have gotten him time, _but_ the Sherriff wanted to make an example and there was no one better to make it on than a Jones.”

Betty remained quiet, taking it all in. They _did_ need a roommate, _really_ bad, and even if they didn’t - she did owe JB a favor. A huge one at that.

“He’ll find a job? He’ll have no issues paying his share of the bills?”

“Yes!” JB answered quickly causing her voice to echo off the walls and Betty chuckled. It must have shown on her face that she was going to give in because a second later, the blue-eyed girl was wrapping her in a tight hug. “He’ll never be late with paying either, I swear. He cleans too. He _always_ did chores and kept busy. He's a simple guy and he's polite and I already went over all the rules and told him there would be _dire_ consequences if he dared step out of line.” she rambled.

Betty sent her a smile when she stepped back, inhaling deeply through her nose when the elevator chimed, announcing they had reached their floor.

“Well, I trust you, so…” she trailed off as they made their way to their apartment. This would be good. JB knew her brother, and she trusted JB’s judgment. They both had no problem cutting family from their lives when they were toxic so if she was vouching for her brother, that really meant something. Sure, she was a bit hesitant and nervous about a new person being in her safe place, but she would have felt like this with any new roommate. There would just be an adjustment period and then the awkwardness would fade. Hopefully.

“Just promise me one thing.”

Betty glanced over at her as they approached their door. “What’s that?”

“Don’t like... start crushing on him please,” JB made an exaggerated gagging noise. “It would be _so_ incredibly weird and I already told him the same thing about you.”

Betty laughed. That _definitely_ wouldn’t be a problem. She didn’t have time for crushes. “I promise.”

JB’s grin lit up her face. “Great,” she said, jumping up and down quickly before wrapping Betty in another hug. “One more thing though,” she added, pulling back and reaching for the handle. “He’s already here.”

Betty barely had time to open her mouth before the door was flying open and JB was announcing their arrival.

“I’m back! And my roomie is here too!”

She felt him first, as crazy as that sounded. As she stepped into the apartment, there was a change in the air. A prickling on her skin, a warmth, an awareness. Then her eyes were drawn to the hall and her heart stopped when they landed on him as he exited their now shared bathroom. 

The small towel he was using to dry his dark hair had droplets falling onto his bare chest, a chest that was covered in tattoos. Beautiful, detailed tattoos, spreading from shoulder to shoulder and down both of his arms. A pair of dark jeans hung loosely at his hips and apart from a necklace, a necklace she realized was identical to one JB owned and never took off, the jeans were _all_ he was wearing.

“Eww, put a shirt on. _Gross_.”

Betty ripped her eyes away at her friend's voice and watched silently as JB grabbed an apple off the counter and bit into it, rolling her eyes at her brother.

She cleared her throat, once, twice, before JB caught on to the awkward silence that had suddenly fallen upon them all.

“Oh, shit, sorry.” She apologized over a bite and then swallowed quickly. “Betty, this is Jughead. Jug, this is my best friend Betty.”

Betty swallowed, her pulse starting to hum as she felt his eyes on her and slowly brought her own up to meet his. They were blue, just like his sisters but yet so different. Darker - in more ways than one.

It happened in an instant, her whole body coming to life as their eyes met and she wondered if he felt it too, the electricity that was bouncing between them, her body coming alive for the first time in longer than she cared to admit.

He took a step toward her and her heart started to pound.

“Need help with those?”

His voice was deep but soft, washing over her in waves. He didn’t wait for a reply and instead lifted the heavy grocery bag from her arms, his hand brushing hers ever so slightly as he did so.

“See, I told you he was polite,” JB said through another mouthful of apple.

Jughead smirked. “Unlike some people,” he muttered as he sat the bag on the counter and turned back to Betty. She didn’t miss the way his eyes moved over her, taking in every inch of her body before meeting hers again as he held out a hand.

She swallowed, her throat painfully dry as she lifted her own hand and placed it in his much larger one, warmth instantly spreading up her arm at the contact.

“It’s nice to meet you, Betty. Thanks for letting me take your extra room.”

She cleared her throat once, twice, three times, before she felt confident enough that her voice would sound normal when she replied. “It’s nice to meet you too, Jughead. Welcome. I hope you like it here.”

When his eyes flashed with a mischievous glint, she _knew_ right then that for the first time in the five years since she'd met the energetic brunette at orientation and they'd become inseparable, that she just might be breaking a promise to her best friend.

* * *

_Leave me paralyzed, love_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading <3  
> Find me on tumblr: [secretsofthesky](http://www.secretsofthesky.tumblr.com)


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